Indonesia has remarkably abundant resources of nickel. It could dominate the supply chain of lithium batteries and the development of electric cars
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia can become the world's largest producer of lithium batteries and electric vehicles given its abundant reserves of nickel, a key component in electric car development, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has said.



"Indonesia has remarkably abundant resources of nickel. It could dominate the supply chain of lithium batteries and the development of electric cars," Kadin’s deputy chairman for national business development, Arsjad Rasjid, said in a statement issued here on Thursday.



The development of electric cars would produce a domino effect and improve the role of micro, small, and medium scale enterprises (MSME) in the domestic automotive industry, he added.



"What has been set by President Joko Widodo — to develop lithium batteries and electric cars — is a remarkable idea. We have to be ready if we want to compete. We can lead the sector," Rasjid affirmed.



However, he added, Indonesia would need to be prepared in some areas, including grooming competitive human resources, using local components, and acquiring foreign technology for development in Indonesia.



"We can buy foreign technology and develop it in Indonesia. At the end, it will become Indonesia's intellectual property. On the use of local content, we have abundant components in Indonesia and our battery production will be more competitive," Rasjid elaborated.



President Joko Widodo has issued Presidential Regulation no.55/2019 on acceleration of the battery-based electric vehicle program for road transportation.



Based on data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Indonesia produced 2.12 million tons of nickel pig iron (NPI) and 482,400 tons of ferronickel in 2017.



Indonesia has 1.02 billion tons of nickel reserves as of 2012, especially in Sulawesi and Maluku, according to data provided by the ministry’s Geological Agency. (INE)




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Translator: Royke Sinaga, Sri Haryati
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